With two monitors, the video call goes on the screen that has your camera, and the AI interview assistant goes in a narrow window as close to that camera as possible, either at the top of the same screen or on the adjacent edge of the second one. When the interviewer asks you to share your screen, share the single window they need, such as the coding editor or a browser tab, rather than your entire desktop. That keeps the shared view focused and keeps your notifications, email and other windows out of the interview. This page covers the three layouts people actually use, the eye-contact trade-off of each, and a pre-call checklist.
Start with the camera, not the monitors
Eye contact on a video call means looking at the lens. Two monitors double the chance of looking somewhere else. So the first decision is where the camera is, and everything else is arranged around it. If you use a laptop with an external monitor, the camera is probably on the laptop lid. If you have two external monitors and a clip-on webcam, pick one monitor as the "camera monitor" and clip the webcam to it, centered. The call window lives on that monitor, as close to the camera as you can place it, so that looking at the interviewer's face is nearly the same as looking at the lens.
The desktop AI interview assistant then goes where a glance at it is the smallest possible head movement from the lens. That is almost always the camera monitor, in a narrow column at the top. A second monitor off to the side is a visible head turn every time you read, and in an interview that turn happens many times.
Three layouts, compared
| Layout | Monitor 1 (camera) | Monitor 2 | Eye contact | Best for |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| A. Everything on the camera monitor | Call video in the middle; assistant as a narrow column at top center; editor below or beside if needed | Notes, job description, résumé, or nothing | Best; all glances stay near the lens | Behavioral and most technical rounds |
| B. Editor on monitor 2 | Call video at top under the camera; assistant beside it | The shared coding editor, full size | Good while talking; you look away while coding, which is expected | Live coding and pair programming |
| C. Assistant on monitor 2 | Call video and editor | Assistant | Weakest; every read is a head turn | Only when monitor 1 is too small for both; put the assistant on the edge nearest the camera |
Layout A is the default recommendation. The assistant's answer arrives key points first in about 2 seconds, and with the text size enlarged in Options a narrow column holds those points without scrolling. If a long answer runs on, Ctrl+Shift+/ scrolls it without a click. The second monitor is then free for your own preparation: the job description, your résumé bullets, questions you plan to ask. None of that needs to be near the lens because you only look at it between questions.
Layout B is for coding rounds. Interviewers expect you to look at the editor while you type, so putting the editor full-size on the second monitor costs nothing and gives you room. Coding mode (Ctrl+Shift+C) gives you complete code in your chosen language, and Read screen (Ctrl+Shift+S) captures the shared editor and answers what is shown; test Read screen once on your layout in a practice session. Keep click-safe on (Ctrl+Shift+F) so the assistant never takes focus from the editor while you type.
Layout C is the one to avoid unless forced. If you must use it, put the assistant on the inner edge of monitor 2, right next to the bezel that borders the camera monitor, so the turn is as small as possible.
Screen sharing: share the window, not the desktop
Zoom, Microsoft Teams and Google Meet all let you choose between sharing an entire screen and sharing a single application window or browser tab. Share the window. This is good practice regardless of what else is open: a full-desktop share shows your notifications, your taskbar, any email that pops up, and whichever monitor you picked in its entirety. A window share shows exactly the thing the interviewer asked to see, the coding editor or the slide deck, and nothing else.
With two monitors this matters more, because "share screen" prompts you to pick one of two screens and it is easy to pick the wrong one. Before the call, open the editor or document you expect to share, and when the moment comes, choose it by name from the window list. If the interviewer asks you to share a browser, share that tab or that browser window. If the shared editor lives inside a browser, share that browser window. The principle is the same as handing someone a document instead of your whole desk: they see what they asked for, and the conversation stays on it.
A pre-call checklist for two monitors
- Camera centered on monitor 1; the call window directly under it.
- Assistant window narrow, at the top of monitor 1 (layout A) or beside the call (layout B). Text size enlarged in Options.
- Click-safe on (Ctrl+Shift+F). Listening started (Ctrl+Shift+L) once the interviewer joins.
- Editor or document you expect to share already open, so it appears in the window list.
- Notifications paused on both monitors in your operating system's focus or do-not-disturb setting.
- Second monitor holds only what you want to glance at between questions: job description, résumé, your questions for them.
- Ctrl+Shift+H ready to show or hide the assistant window if you want the camera monitor clear for a moment.
Audio does not care about monitors
One thing that does not change with a second screen: how the app hears the interviewer. The real-time interview copilot captures the interviewer's voice from the computer's audio output, what the meeting app plays, not from a microphone. Headphones are fine. Which monitor the meeting app is on makes no difference to captions. If captions stop, the usual causes are the meeting app's audio output setting or the idle pause after 10 minutes without voice, not the display layout.
The honest limitation
A second monitor adds space but also adds distance from the lens, and no software fixes geometry. If your camera monitor is small, you may find that the call window, the assistant and an editor do not all fit, and you have to choose between layout B and layout C. In that case, favor the layout where the thing you look at most often during the round is nearest the camera: the editor in a coding round, the assistant in a behavioral one. And remember that the answer is an outline for you to speak in your own words, not a script; the less you need to read, the less the layout matters. Practicing with the AI mock interview on your actual two-monitor layout is the fastest way to find out what you can take in with a glance.
If you are still choosing a tool
Multi-monitor comfort comes down to a few features: a window that can be made narrow, enlargeable text, a scroll hotkey, and a click-safe option so the window never steals focus from your editor. You can compare AI interview assistants on those points. For the single-screen version of this advice, see where to position an AI interview assistant window, and for live coding specifics, live coding interview tips for Zoom and Teams.
Follow the rules of the employer or assessment you're in — many people use it only to practice, which works on the free plan.
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Which monitor should the video call be on?
The one with the camera. Looking at the interviewer's face should be as close as possible to looking at the lens, so the call window goes directly under the camera on that monitor.
Should the AI interview assistant be on the second monitor?
Usually not. A second monitor is a visible head turn away from the camera every time you read. Put the assistant as a narrow column at the top of the camera monitor, and use the second monitor for notes you only check between questions.
Should I share my whole screen or one window?
Share the single window the interviewer asked to see, such as the coding editor or a browser tab. A whole-desktop share includes notifications, your taskbar and whatever else is open on that monitor, none of which was requested.
Does Read screen work if the editor is on the other monitor?
Read screen (Ctrl+Shift+S) captures the shared coding editor or slide and answers what is shown. Open the editor where you want it before the call and test Read screen once in a practice session so you know how it behaves on your layout.
Does the assistant hear the interviewer if the meeting app is on monitor 2?
Yes. The app captures audio from what the meeting app plays, not from a microphone and not from a screen, so the display layout makes no difference to captions. Headphones work fine.
What if my camera monitor is too small for the call, the editor and the assistant?
Put the thing you look at most during that round nearest the camera: the editor in a coding round, the assistant in a behavioral one. Move the other to the inner edge of the second monitor, right beside the bezel, to keep the head turn small.